Can anyone speak about experiences with rust? Every once and a while I hear about rust concerns. Given my experience with a certain brand of steps I’m hesitant to pull the trigger in these.
thanks is advance.

Unlike the Steps you are referring to that do not get fully powder coated the Slipstream is all sheet metal with no welds, no concealed areas so every surface is powder coated.

I have one of the 1st ever produced for the JL I have had it for 14 months now and ran all summer with top off even had several rain events where the slipstream was exposed. Also live in the Pacific North West in a salt water and rainy environment. So far no a flak of rust.

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Unlike the Steps you are referring to that do not get fully powder coated the Slipstream is all sheet metal with no welds, no concealed areas so every surface is powder coated.

I have one of the 1st ever produced for the JL I have had it for 14 months now and ran all summer with top off even had several rain events where the slipstream was exposed. Also live in the Pacific North West in a salt water and rainy environment. So far no a flak of rust.

thanks but I’m looking for real owners to reply. By your description the OEM gasket doesn’t do anything until a slipstream is installed. I assume this adds 2mm of material between the tub of the hardtop (gasket). That is potential for extra noise in any vehicle. Just looking for input from hardtop owners.

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No issue with additional noise while using my hard top. The hard top does flex a little when tightening the screws which helps to seal that gap although it is very minimal. If this is a concern of yours I would say not to worry.

As well I have not noticed any water intrusion as it must be sealing as intended.

Zero Fox is 100% accurate. The metal is thin I did add a weather strip on the forward couple inches where there is no slipstream decking between the top and the rail this filled in a small gap and assured me no rain would get in, while it was not an issue without the strip it made me feel better. Wind noise is a mute issue there is nothing about the slipstream or the posture of the hardtop that would even remotely produce wind noise.

Look, the Slipstream after nearly a year and a half is still one of my favorite mods, it is a smart, functional component, and frankly the company is stand up.

Being a early adopter of Slipstream JL I had my share of issues (mostly finish and fit of the early systems) but all have been worked out and frankly they were all minor issues.

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Just read the entire thread, forgive me if I missed this: once this is installed on a two door, does it need to be fully uninstalled to get the rear seats back in or is it similar to to truck tonneau covers that can be removed/reinstalled relatively quickly and easily by leaving the brackets or mounting gear installed and just removing the top section?

Although nobody has sat in the back seat yet, it’s theoretically possible that I might take more than one passenger some day so would like to keep that option open...

Active Member

Can anyone speak about experiences with rust? Every once and a while I hear about rust concerns. Given my experience with a certain brand of steps I’m hesitant to pull the trigger in these.
thanks is advance.

I love my slipstream but in my opinion the finish is by far the weakest part. Simply sliding a rubbermaid storage bin across the top made tons of scuff marks. Not enough to get to the metal and cause rust, but it looks terrible. Meanwhile the paint has chipped in many places on the edges and, somewhat understandably, in the holes where the hard top alignment pins go. And those all start rusting immediately. This was all within a few months after install.

So I’m planning to take off all of the top panels and coat them with something more durable. Then it should be perfect. It’s otherwise an amazing product and I’d still 100% recommend it even with the finish problems I’ve had.

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Hydroturf. Available in different cut patterns, and different colors. I almost went bi color Black/Red (Black Surface and Red where they cut the pattern), but decided to stay a little more subtle. You can buy it from any number of sources, But I usually buy it from Ebay with 3M adhesive tape pre-attached as it's easier to work with. About $80 for a sheet. Make pattern with cardboard, then cut out hydroturf. Took 1 1/2 hours to install.

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Finally got mine installed after some choice words and thought I would add a review as well.

It wasn't a very complicated install just very time consuming, about 4 hrs as others have stated. Mainly from having to watch the install video,pause, play, scratch head, rewind, etc and the lack of a powered ratchet. If I had to do it over I could prob do it in half the time. It did seem to me the metal is a tad bit on the thin side but i image it cant be much thicker or there may be some issues fitting the hartop back properly Overall it is a great product aside from some minor things that disturb my OCD. Not seeing the powder coating issues others have mentioned. The coating on mine was perfect. Although the top has started to wear on the passenger side where the top meets the horizontal rail. I've tried and tried to adjust it and I just cant seem to adjust it enough to not rub on that corner. It's not bad just enough to be annoying. I was too lazy to pull the pins to lift it up and snap a pic.

One thing that kind of bothers me is that all the corners are very sharp and pointed. Could easily catch a pc of cloth and tear it like leaning over into the jeep and catching a shirt or something on it. A quick brush of a file on the corners would solve that. The mystery hole in the front edge of the wing bothers me a bit as well. Not sure why it is there as there are no threads or holes in the body where its located. I didnt notice this hole in the wings from the install video or the other pics ive seen posted here. I thought about cutting a little piece of electrical tape and placing it in there or something. I also thought it would be nice to have a filler to the front of the wing where the body metal is still exposed.

Not real happy about how the rear tailpieces sit on the body. These are the pieces that are added on if you arent using the soft top. I dont have a soft top but looking at some of the picture of others with the soft top i see the soft top kit has a pc that bolts on here. Seems to me like if you put a whole in the tailpiece where the soft top bracket bolts you could run a bolt down through it and it would sit much nicer. I may just end up drilling a hole in it myself as this is the one thing about the whole thing that bothers me the most. Anyone have the capabilty of making a template from their soft top bracket for the location of this hole?

Also thought it would have been nice to see some rubber gasket material around the rollbar postsand the tie down rails. Easy enough to mod but will have to take the whole damn thing apart to do it.

Attaching the molle panels once you have attached the tailpiece you cannot get your rivets in as the predrilled holes line up with exactly where the nuts are. If you put the rivets in first you wont be able to tighten these nuts. Had to drill new holes for the rivets not a big deal but minor incovenience. I suspect this will be changed on future units. Also one on the pin retainers broke the first time i removed it.

Aside from all the minor inconsistancies this thing is great and i would recomend it to anyone. Im really not trying to pick this thing apart as it is a really great system just pointing out the things that stood out to me.
Design - 8/10
Function - 9/10
Ease of Install - 7/10
Finish - 10/10
Price - 6/10

Member

Everyone is different, uses their jeep differently, and has different tolerances for different details in life. We run doors and windows at home. Needed a lockable space; After a few months, here is how we feel:

Love the Slipstream. Noticed top of the Slipstream getting scratched from sliding coolers. Added Hydroturf. Stopped the sliding, like the look. We ride in Sunrider position, Safari mode to have open air, yet maintain rear visibility. We never open the slipstream to access items underneath. Solid, no rattles. Have a rear deck tonneau ordered (6 months ago, not released yet) to make trunk more water proof. Our tailgate closes perfectly with the rear window installed. It's tight, but works perfect. All in all it's perfect for our needs.

I should note that I tried using the a similar diamond plate covering it was a two fold problem:

1. the grooves run to the outer edges making it almost impossible to create seal
2. that Diamond plate is difficult to clean the dirt from all the groves. I have a hard enough time cleaning the smooth surfaces and nooks and crannies in the Jeep.

As far as the height different that is a non issue you can use a door sealer (foam strup to offset the difference.

I really like the look however the cleaning was a a real pain. Fortunately I figured this out before I glued it down.